Thus… the season did a thing.

Infidel 762

Infidel 762

Director
Staff member
Another Christmas, and Christmas smells are in the air—the kind that pull you back to childhood mornings, the simple sounds of youth. But it feels like a decade of old versions of ourselves have faded into the cold. Time doesn’t explain; it just moves, quietly asking what still needs forgiving.

We change, whether we mean to or not. Nights fall heavy, and somewhere in that weight you realize you’re not who you were… and that’s not always a loss. This season, change came as a new rhythm, a new shotgun, a new way of learning.

Nothing grows without weather. Even the brightest seasons need rain. Cold hands, hard wind, the patience to let a method prove itself—this is how progress is earned.

And maybe that’s the gift—when everything slows just enough to notice: the breath in the cold, the quiet between moments, the shinning in the light, lifting me up, laying me down, the sense that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. Maybe this is how we disappear into who we are becoming—letting the past fade, letting something truer take its place.

Merry Christmas


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Sweet hat! Merry Christmas, Jeremy!

Nice to see you getting back to crafting your writings amidst progressing your predator hunting craft. You are exceptional at both, sir! Well done.

I'm getting a crazy urge to get one with a shotgun. I haven't done that in a few years now. I think when we get a bright moon back I'm going to give it a shot.
 
hm1996 said:
(y) (y) Obviously you've had the patience to make the switch to the smoothbores. Just never could bring myself to give up the rifle.
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Not really—just kind of winging it for now. TSS is expensive; what I’ve found, I’m paying about $16.25 a round for FOXTROT #4 TSS. Admittedly, I consider myself a novice when it comes to choke constriction. One of the coyotes was at 64 yards, broadside, and it dropped. After I took that pic, I called another one in to about 55 yards. It was facing me, and all I could see was head and neck. I shot and he dropped too, but then got back up and limped off into the brush.

I’m also realizing I need to carry a rifle—I let two get away that were standing just outside my comfortable shotgun range.

Any of you shotgun experts think I run the risk of blowing a .670 Indian Creek choke out of the barrel of a Remington 870 shooting #4 TSS?
 
Infidel 762 said:
Not really—just kind of winging it for now. TSS is expensive; what I’ve found, I’m paying about $16.25 a round for FOXTROT #4 TSS. Admittedly, I consider myself a novice when it comes to choke constriction. One of the coyotes was at 64 yards, broadside, and it dropped. After I took that pic, I called another one in to about 55 yards. It was facing me, and all I could see was head and neck. I shot and he dropped too, but then got back up and limped off into the brush.

I’m also realizing I need to carry a rifle—I let two get away that were standing just outside my comfortable shotgun range.

Any of you shotgun experts think I run the risk of blowing a .670 Indian Creek choke out of the barrel of a Remington 870 shooting #4 TSS?
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When I drop dog's with my smoothbore it's usually when their on the run and at very close range to keep them from destroying the mojo decoy.
I've never dropped a dog with a shotgun past 20 yards.
Unless there's snow on the ground I wouldn't be able to see them much past that, so hat's off to you for dropping them past 50 yards.
SJC
 
@Infidel 762 your writing is superb my friend. I know I have changed a lot in my 34 years. Life has not always been kind, some of it my doing. It has taught me to let go of my ego and given me a large dose of humility. I am closer to being the man I want to see when I look in the mirror. Congrats on the smooth bore kills and happy hunting. Merry Christmas to all!
 
.710 Indian Creek Choke does the best for me with #2 and #4 shot TSS coyote loads!

Ive tested all kinds of chokes and shells in my Winchester 1300 pump gun and the .710 choke give me the best patterns out to 60 yds.

Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing all your success in these wonderful posts!
 
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Merry Christmas Jeremy and to everyone else... Shooting 1-1/2oz #4 Apex TSS out of my factory Benelli modified choke (.702) I am getting 108 pellets inside a 30" circle at 50 yards
 
I don’t see an issue with a .670 as far as shooting TSS 4 shot. I tend to agree that a more open constriction will yield better results in this application.

I get best results with a .670 pure Gold but I don’t shoot TSS. I have a stockpile of the Winchester Varmint-X BB loads that have knocked a couple down. I also have a .685” Jebs choke that handles 4 Buck lead loads exceptionally well in my longer barrels.

Patterning shotguns for coyotes was a lot more work than I ever imagined it would take to get a consistent pattern with larger shot. I believe TSS isn’t quite as finicky. I would hope not for the price of the stuff!
 
Lazer32 said:
@Infidel 762 your writing is superb my friend. I know I have changed a lot in my 34 years. Life has not always been kind, some of it my doing. It has taught me to let go of my ego and given me a large dose of humility. I am closer to being the man I want to see when I look in the mirror. Congrats on the smooth bore kills and happy hunting. Merry Christmas to all!
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Aside from losing weight or building muscle, most of our physical changes tend to move downhill. It takes a little longer to stand up. We can’t run as fast or as far. Our hair turns gray and recedes. In some ways, we start transforming back—becoming clumsy again, like toddlers learning to stand.

But what changes most is our attitude and our outlook on life. We learn not to regret the past, nor try to shut the door on it. Self-seeking either slips away, or we become consumed by it. We’re driven by self-will, or we learn to let go and rely on a higher power for strength—replacing fear and doubt with faith and acceptance.

A couple of weeks ago, my dog was hit on the highway. I wrote this the next day:

Many years ago, I found myself in the smoke-filled rooms of a 12-step meeting, surrounded by people who spoke a language my heart didn’t yet understand. They said things like “faith without works is dead” and “worrying is a lack of faith.” Back then, those words felt like riddles meant for someone wiser. I once asked an older man—someone who carried peace the way others carry burdens—what my anxiety said about my faith. He looked at me gently and said, “Worrying can be a lack of faith… or it can be a form of prayer.”

Those words settled deep. I’ve tried to live by them as I’ve stumbled through life. Prayer, for me, has never been for show. It’s quiet, something I do alone when I’m trying to steady myself. I don’t pray for material things; I pray for acceptance, clearer thinking, and the humility to remember where I came from.

Yesterday, I picked up my tiny Chihuahua from the center line of the highway after she’d been run over. The vet put her on IVs and told me to “hope for the best.” So last night I prayed—not for miracles, but for acceptance, whatever the outcome. I was afraid to pray she’d be okay; I didn’t want to feel like my prayers had gone unanswered. But God knew what my heart wanted.

Today, she’s riding home with me—alive, warm, and breathing soft little breaths of hope.

My name is Jeremy. Thanks for letting me share.


 
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